JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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Statistics
Am I the first?
What happened to David M and TedF?
Busy trying to make sense of Albo’s waffle last night. I didn’t watch it nor bothered about trying to decipher it.
110
Australia desperately needs a leader.
111
The Australian carries an article (by GREG SHERIDAN) This was no Gettysburg Address, more Dame Edna on a bad night.
80
An insult to Dame Edna. Was April the 1st chosen deliberately for Albo’s waffle?
100
Perhaps he forgot about the noon deadline??
10
At Sky comment from guest tonight that the PM has no idea that he has no idea.
20
Respectfully disagree.
We need public servants knowing their place, Morrison was the best during my time.
Seriously – how much good any ardent revolutionary brought to his constituents?
13
There’s been a very serious lack of real leadership for years. The UK is no better. A real disappointment for me as I am a Briton by birth and an Australian by adoption.
70
I can explain it to you…. jibber jibber, waffle waffle.
40
I can translate it for you :
“The Australian economy is on its side in a ditch due to negative productivity, uncontrolled welfareism, Net Zero electricity prices, and inflation fuelled by government capital and recurrent spending. But it’s not us – no, no – it’s all the fault of six weeks of Gulf warfare that is only now starting to kick in. So, have some OPM and trust us while we restructure things a bit more…”
200
That knock on his door and a team of 6 heavily armed men wanted to have a chat privately. 😉
60
The UK now has very little Diesel refining capacity left.
Grangemouth ceased production very recently, adding to other closures, owing to massive carbon taxes and energy costs.
We are now reliant largely on imports and as a result today diesel reached £2 a litre at the pumps in places, matching the record in the last crisis, but will certainly go higher.
This is entirely self inflicted as a result of long term suicidal netzero and economic decisions…… But but but Russia… Iran… Brexit… There’s always a handy excuse.
230
Refining is industry and is incompatible with a de-industrialised economy.
I expect UK is in the same position as Australia. Australia cannot repair the machines it has let along build them. Australia has to ship large machines offshore for major repair.
Trump is working on keeping nuclear arsenal out of IRGC hands. But UK already has a nuclear arsenal and is getting close to being in the hands of the IRGC.
It is good for the world for UK to de-industrialise because the nuclear arsenal is useless without the ability to maintain it.
130
“Brexit..” There’s a word we haven’t heard for ages! Now the smoke has cleared, has it had any effect? Has it even happened?
Are people better off or worse? ..or is Starmer outweighing any effect it had anyway?
20
Brexit was never allowed to work properly. It’s been undermined by the ‘Remoaners’.
141
“owing to massive carbon taxes and energy costs.”
Engineered by govt, naturally.
30
EV power consumption a costly mystery
By David Wojick
https://www.cfact.org/2026/04/01/ev-power-consumption-a-costly-mystery/
The beginning: “This article is about questions not answers. When it comes to understanding the electric power grid there is a big data gap that needs to be overcome. We have no actual data on how much electricity EVs consume or when and where they consume it.
The problem is that most EVs most of the time are charged at the owner’s residence or workplace. In both cases the electricity consumed is often simply added to that building’s total on the meter. There is no separate accounting for it so no data. There are about 7,000,000 EVs on the American road with unknown grid impacts.”
Lots more in the article. The impact could be big and growing.
150
David,
here in Australia, I might suspect the same is happening (electric vehicle charging) and again, the actual power consumed by the charging is hidden.
However, there might be a (sort of) guide here.
Look at the total AEMO power generation (hence power consumption) shown at this graph link.
This shows a year on year total for power generation across the AEMO, and here, hover your mouse over each individual year, and the total appears above the graph, the top right figure ….. so, for 2025, it shows as 217,808GWH.
OK, following the three blind mice climate scaremongering, power generation fell away, (you know, manufacturing closing down and moving to, well, we all know where) starting around 2010. Then, in 2015, it started to increase again. Ever so slowly, around half a percent a year.
However for the last two years, with the ….. hey look over there, is that an EV? ….. increase??, well, that power consumption is now increasing by almost 3% a year.
Okay, that’s Australia.
For the US, you have similar (well, a many quantums level better) charts at the EIA, and that’s shown at this link.
So, look under that (mid screen across) heading Total Generation at Utility Scale Facilities and the numbers all start with a 4, so 4 million plus GWH. (so, Australia multiplied by 20)
It’s showing a similar 3% rise in overall power consumption for the last two years.
So, going back a few years we have a year on year increase of half a percent, and now 3 Percent.
That’s a shirtload of extra power in real terms, (GWH) as opposed the much smaller percentages.
Oh, and the rolling 12 month total for Australia is now up to almost 219,000GWH, and it’s only three Months into the year.
Tony.
PostScript – And hey, I might be picky, but that EIA site (overall) was so much simpler to navigate around going back a few years. Now it’s harder to find what you actually want. China did the same thing with their site as well.
110
The actual wholesale market is presently flat. All the increase is in distributed solar.
In Victoria, some of the increase is due to electrification of water heating and space heating. There are significant incentives to install heat pumps and disconnect the gas.
Tomago and BSL smelters were recently added to the list of subsidy farmers and that is keeping wholesale demand artificially high. It is just dumb to keep worthless assets operating.
The only way Australia will get back to an industrial economy is to focus on lignite and go hard with it. It is by far the lowest cost form of energy. Doing that would even make a BEV industry viable. Then electrify the intercity rail network and streamline the interfacing supply chains.
There may be a place for rooftop solar and batteries to take the load off the industrial grid while it is in recovery mode.
When I worked in Dampier, I worked with people who had moved from other parts of Australia to make Iron Ore export viable. There were some interesting characters from NSW rail networks involved in making the Hamersley trains work well. These people brought expertise that was built on by access to almost unlimited resources. They rail networks and maintenance standards were truly world class. They remain that way because they support a viable industry. Similar occurred in the coal transport in Queensland, which is now electrified.
Low cost energy is the backbone of industry. Australia used to have that. Now it doesn’t. All the hard work that went into the national grid achieved best result in 2003 – wholesale market price $23/MWh. Now all destroyed by Howard’s RET and Turbull’s greed.
It will be stupid trying to run large BEV fleets on wind and solar. Pointless waste. OK for retirees like me who can choose when they travel somewhere and how far. And bird mincers a crime against the avian communities that I truly treasure.
120
Agree re EIA. Was easy now hard. Bummer.
10
Making information more difficult to find makes hiding information much easier.
100
Taking the 7.0 m EVs figure and using the average daily distance driven in the USA of 41 miles, together with a rough estimate of 4.0 miles per kWh..
Each car would need 10.25 kWh per day..
..or 70,250,000 kWh total per day for all EVs (70.25 GWh per day )
..or 25.6 TWh annually
With the USA current electricity consumption at approx 4200 TWh annually, the EV demand represents just 0.6% of consumption
And remember some EVs will be using roof top solar for recharging
If the EV usage ever gets to 70m vehicles you might want to review this
00
Is NATO finished?
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/04/trump-seriously-considering-leaving-nato-says-uk-doesnt/
20
He needs two-thirds of the Senate to support the motion, that won’t happen.
11
More’n one way to skin a cat. Could the US simply pull their troops out of Europe, saving billions? That would receive a resounding three cheers from KP et al who accuse America of being colonists.
00
While Trump is busy dumping the good for nothing NATO he can save spending any more time & $$$$ and dump the the ( Useless ) United Nations as well.
Tell them to take their Head Office and leave the USA. Set up in Brussels across the road from the other travesty, the EU!!
30
Here is an article about the infamous ‘tiki torch’ march of ‘white nationalists’ in Charlottesville VA USA.
https://qz.com/1054023/charlottesville-torch-photo-white-nationalist-peter-cytanovic-wants-people-to-know-he-is-not-an-evil-nazi
Trump was subsequently falsely accused of calling them “good people” after specifically condemning them in misleadingly edited MSM reports.
Couple of questions.
I know the area well, Charlottesville is an upscale college town. There are very few, if any, working class deplorable types that still can afford to live in the surrounds. It is largely DC ex-urb upscale horse farm country.
Who sent the memo out for everyone to stop by the patio supply store and bring matching tiki torches?
How did it come to pass that there was sufficient tiki torch supply in the area to meet the increased demand?
They seen rather unusually fit, well groomed, well coiffed, and clean shaven for deplorable redneck types if you ask me.
Me being southern working class myself and having some experience of the population group.
I don’t see a ragged Lynard Skynard or NASCAR T-shirt anywhere.
Not to disparage my own culture or NASCAR, these are not the average NASCAR attendee, I say having attended a few.
Asking such folk to purchase and not forget their specified matching tiki torches would much less successful than herding cats.
80
Where the money is! The shareholders will be cheering…
“The Pentagon.. moved last week to accelerate the supply of missile systems and components from three big manufacturers – Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and Honeywell Aerospace.
Lockheed has promised to quadruple the production volume of its Precision Strike Missiles, HIMARS.
BAE Systems will increase the supply of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence interceptor, or THAAD, which is used for missile defence.
Honeywell will increase the supply of air-to-air missiles used on fighter jets.”
However the cost is crippling and the production rates far behind the usage rates. They will be unsustainable in a long war.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/the-next-big-iran-war-question-who-will-lose-from-the-missile-shortage-20260401-p5zkgk.html
20
FWIW
“The Strait of Hormuz’s Bitter Lesson for the European Union”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/04/01/the-strait-of-hormuzs-bitter-lesson-for-the-european-union/
More reading for “ElBowen”
40
Allow business owners to decide.
Those investing their own money.
In that light, myself and many others on this blog, are business owners – our super pays for our keep.
40
Free Enterprise free market places
Sociaists call socialism !!!
00
The lesson is just as bitter for Australia. The radical left chasing a fantasy based on a lie.
70
FWIW
“A fascinating legacy from a bygone era”
“In northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state, a team of workers is carefully restoring a centuries-old royal kitchen that once fed the rulers of the former princely state of Awadh.
Tucked within the sprawling complex of Chota Imambara – a mausoleum and congregation hall – this kitchen in Lucknow is a reminder of a different kind of royal legacy. Built in 1837 by former Awadh ruler Muhammad Ali Shah, the site once served not just the elite, but the public too.”
More at
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-fascinating-legacy-from-bygone-era.html
Concludes “I could wish that some of our modern oligarchs and rulers might continue the practice . . .”
30
And another interesting thing that happened at Lucknow just 20 years later.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://allpoetry.com/poem/8484263-The-Pipes-At-Lucknow-by-John-Greenleaf-Whittier&ved=2ahUKEwiKqcnd9M2TAxUHWXADHX4SI6AQFnoECBkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0jgSydzqbGxihkPUgDToMO
00
FWIW – compare and contrast
“April 1 With an Administration That Has a Sense of Humor”
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2026/04/01/april1-with-an-administration-that-has-a-sense-of-humor-n3813485
20
FWIW – looking from outside
“Australian Prime Minister Albanese Gives National Address – Conserve Fuel, or Else!
April 1, 2026 | Sundance | 209 Comments”
“Three days ago, the Australian government was downplaying reports of a serious shortage of fuel. Today the Australian Prime Minister gives a national address and warns Aussies to conserve fuel, or else things will get sketchy.
In non-pretending terms: it’s Australia – PREPARE FOR THE SKETCHY!”
More at
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/04/01/australian-prime-minister-albanese-gives-national-address-conserve-fuel-or-else/
And an interesting map there
Starmer’s version
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/04/01/uk-prime-minister-keir-starmer-gives-a-national-address-things-will-never-be-the-same-again/
50
If one wants to know what’s really happening, don’t watch the mouths, watch the feet.
ie ignore what the pollies and media say, watch military deployments.
30
And
“EU Leaders Utterly Bewildered at Energy Vulnerabilities Now Evident
April 1, 2026 | Sundance | 10 Comments
They stopped their oil and gas exploration. They chose to chase ‘net zero’ academic pontifications. They closed their refining operations. They took apart their coal-fired electricity plants. They disassembled their nuclear power capabilities. Then, the absolute cherry on the proverbial cake, they voted to stop purchasing oil and gas from Russia.
The EU is now in the Find Out stage of their FAFO positioning.”
More at
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/04/01/eu-leaders-utterly-bewildered-at-energy-vulnerabilities-now-evident/
50
Unfortunately, I missed Albanese’s speech because I had important things to attend to, such as removing lint from my navel.
40
I had to toss up whether to listen to our Prime Minister ride the air waves or listen to silence. The latter won.
20
In the interest of food security.
‘Fertiliser shortage is now a ‘disaster’
‘Perdaman chair Vikas Rambal says $200m from Canberra and foreign worker visas can get his $6bn urea plant operational months earlier.’ (Oz)
12
Chaos in China as 100 robotaxis malfunction simultaneously
A mass robotaxi malfunction left passengers stranded in the middle of fast-moving traffic in a major Chinese city, causing major pile-ups.
The ‘system failure’ on Tuesday affected around 100 driverless vehicles, which are operated by Baidu’s Apollo Go, in Wuhan, according to a preliminary report.
Local media reported that some passengers were trapped inside the vehicles for nearly two hours.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15698129/Mass-robotaxi-malfunction-chaos-Chinese-megacity.html
30
Sort of makes the point that the conspiracy theories around the devices in motor vehicles and other manufactured goods out of China is misplaced.
However it does make the point that complicated stuff is apt to fail. And sometimes the failure can be spectacular.
It amazes me that the systems on modern war machines work as well as they do.
I can get into my car with a flat battery. Not certain I can get out without breaking something if the battery is dead.
50
A trifecta of “global leaders” who have each gone to water during a crisis:
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa
Ex-Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau
Australian Prime Minister Albanese
[NB the third one only needs a few seconds of viewing to get the idea]
40
Just starting to put my new Geekom A8 Ryzen9, 32Gb RAM to work.
https://www.geekom.au/geekom-a8-mini-pc/
I am truly impressed. I just ran a macro to calculate daily sunlight with 30 minute time interval for 1200 years for 8 latitudes. It took just over an hour.
The best I could do with my laptop was 200 years and that took over 2 hours. So new tiny box at least an order of magnitude faster.
30
Aussie travellers hit by crushing $800 fuel surcharge as major airline brings in eye-watering new fares – with worse to come after looming China deadline
Australians planning a holiday are facing a brutal blow with airfares set to surge and flights slashed as jet fuel supplies tighten and China curbs exports.
From tomorrow, a return flight from Sydney to London with Cathay Pacific will be hit by an eye-watering $800 fuel surcharge on top of the usual ticket price.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15692801/airfare-crisis-jet-fuel-china-exports.html
London for a holiday??
Riiiggghhhttt..
80
Using natural gas as a leverage might not have the desired outcome.
01
FWIW
UN gets another “tune up”
“Nayib Bukele Just Went Nuclear on the UN and Rightfully So”
https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2026/04/01/nayib-bukele-just-went-nuclear-on-the-un-and-rightfully-so-n4951318
40
FWIW – “Oh Canada”
“Alberta separatists say they’ve already collected enough signatures for referendum”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-separatists-referendum-signatures-9.7149138
Collection runs till early May.
40
We’re pulling out
Oil spikes as Trump vows to hit iran “Extremely hard over next 2-3 weeks”, threatens to send it “Back to the stone ages”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/uae-poised-join-anti-iran-operations-trump-rips-nato-paper-tiger-says-exit-beyond
Reminds me of the old chess/pigeon joke.
“Never play chess with a pigeon.
The pigeon just knocks all the pieces over.
Then sh!ts all over the board.
Then struts around like it won.”
00
Of course! Iran has clearly won this skirmish.
13
“Of course! Iran has clearly won this skirmish.”
Yes! To ‘win’ they only had to survive an unprovoked attack based on the same ‘intelligence’ agencies who gave us ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in Iraq and “Gaddafi is bad’ in Libya…
To ‘win’ America had to destroy Iran enough to take over its oil and sell it themselves, as they did with Iraq and Venezuela.
They have failed.
03
Stop lying. ‘Tis tiresome.
10
I’m not H, American marines are stationed in the oil-producing areas of Iraq, they control the flow and I’m sure, the cash.
A couple of days ago it was reported clearly that they are going to control Venezuela’s oil supply, American companies will extract it, sell it to countries approved by Trump and the money goes into a Peace Board account in the Middle East, from where he will disburse it to the ecstatic peasants of the country he stole it from.
00
No WMD found, is correct.
What did UN Weapons Inspectors find?
* That Iraq had used WMD gas chemicals based against Turkish Kurds and Iran earlier
* Import documents for chemicals
* Unused artillery shells designed the carry the gases
* Chief Chemists locals called Doctor Death and Chemical Ali
* Laboratory and equipment used
Why did Saddam Hussein not admit there were no ready to go WMD prepared?
Because Operation Desert Storm military were chasing Iraqi Military out of Kuwait at the request for help from Kuwait and Hussein was trying to convince the UN to stop Operation Desert Storm (Coalition Of The Willing allied nations) from entering Iraq.
10
Let’s go Brandon!
Allahu Akbar – Ahluvagoodsnackbar
20
Firmly grasping the nettle: What if the US Navy sets up a secondary blockade in the Strait of Hormuz extracting $2mill passage fee from those tankers Iran allows through, after paying $2mill to the IRGC? If they are willing to pay once to get up the nose of the West, they can pay twice.
40
That would be blatant piracy and too risky to guarantee safe passage.
I still can’t see the US putting boots on the ground, the Midterms would be devastating for the Republicans.
02
“That would be blatant piracy”
But they are very good at that, as they have shown this year. They are quite happy to board Russian or Venezuelan tankers and seize the oil for themselves, just blatant piracy on the high seas. Quite happy to blow up civilian speedboats too, they can tell if there are drugs on board from 30,000feet, but apparently can’t intercept them.
01
Who will arrest them?
00
“There was a young harlot from Kew
Who filled her vagina with glue
Said she with a grin
“If they pay to get in
They can pay to get out of it to”
On steroids?
30
Yesterday on Bolt Report at Sky Pauline Hanson claimed Energy Minister Canavan handed over our oil rights to East Timor, that was not accurate and I will post the link later.
Tonight her right hand man said the Coalition closed down this oil-gas platform and refinery ship but read the real history below;
https://www.boilingcold.com.au/northern-endeavour-oil-vessel-without-power-for-weeks-in-timor-sea/
10
Iirc E Timor WAS granted rights over a lot of gas Australian prospectors discovered.
11
10